After Conflict Comes Resolution
by Samber
Summary: Eve and Boyd try to resolve things after the events of 'Substitute'.


**Hello there, this is my first WTD fic, I was watching 'Substitute' again and I just had to write this little piece. I love Eve, she's my favourite WTD character. I think there's a serious lack of Eve fics on here. ****I felt so sorry for her at the end of this episode.**

**I took the title from Stefan's words to Eve in part 2.**

**Please tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or lines taken from the show. **

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><p>"<em>Don't say anything" she said, trying to suppress a shiver.<em>

"_I wasn't going to."_

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><p>Eve didn't flinch when the she heard the shot ring out as Spence sped them away. She simply stared down at her knees in shock. Feeling tears well up in her eyes, she covered them with her hand, something which did not go unnoticed by Boyd, who sat next to her in the back of the car. Boyd was trying to ignore the nagging feeling that he should do something, but he could hardly apologise. He then heard her let out a shuddering breath and turned to find her shaking slightly, cheeks tear stained, her body trembling in a combination of holding back sobs, the shock of the event and cold setting into her body from her soaking clothes. Boyd felt a pang of guilt shoot through him, he felt partly responsible for putting her in this position. She looked so fragile as she sat there, trembling, her face pale and drawn, the dark smudges under her eyes starkly highlighted her protruding cheekbones. She was no longer crying, she had become aware of her boss watching her and was now trying to hold it in. She was merely shivering as she wrapped her arms around herself. In an attempt to regain her composure she turned to glare out of the window, desperately trying to ignore the muddy streaks left there by Stefan's fingers. She flinched as Boyd put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently in a comforting gesture. She swivelled her head to meet his unusually sympathetic gaze for a moment, looking for all the world - to Boyd - like a lost little girl. He sighed deeply once more and let his hand drop from her shaking frame.<p>

After a long while, the car come to a hault, finally snapping Eve out of her hazy thoughts, in which she had been ensconced for quite a while and she realised that they were at her apartment. Boyd had evidently directed Spencer there at some point. She had barely noticed the countryside giving way to the urban landscape. She was grateful, for she wanted nothing more than to curl up inside and shut the world out.

Boyd opened the car door and held out a hand. She pushed it away dismissively. "I'm fine." She muttered, suppressing a shudder, but upon dragging herself out of the car, she found her legs felt like lead and nearly collapsed to the pavement, but Boyd steadied her and, putting an arm around her shoulders, steered her up the stairs and into her flat.

Eve gave in and allowed Boyd to help her up the stairs. After fumbling with her keys, they were through the door. She moved stiffly to the sofa, finally giving into her exhaustion and practically collapsing onto the soft furniture. She could hear Boyd moving around the kitchen, signalled by the clink of mugs and soft hiss of the kettle.

Cradling her head in her hands, she tried to rein in her emotions. She did not want to break down in front of Boyd. She felt dirty, used, angry, foolish, nauseated. But what troubled her the most was the part of her that felt empty, the part that felt sorrow at the loss of Stefan. She had been gullible and believed his lies, when all along, he'd been using her to taint the case against him. He had deserved what he'd gotten, she told herself resolutely. Why should she grieve for the bastard?

_Because you loved him._

"No!" She fumed out loud, raking a hand across her face. She had loved him, but the moment she had realised what he was, what he had done, that had turned to hate. Hatred for the vile acts he had been an accomplice to, and for _stalking_ her, _using_ her, _lying to her_.

It was then that she realised Boyd was hovering over her. She looked up sheepishly, unsure whether or not he had witnessed her small outburst.

"Are you ok?" He asked, in genuine concern, despite knowing it was a stupid question.

"I'll be fine." She answered tiredly, excepting the steaming mug of tea offered to her with a forced smile. She could feel the mug shaking in her hands as Boyd watched her from his standing position. She shivered violently as the warm liquid highlighted the temperature difference in her lower body.

"You really should get out of those wet clothes you know."

Eve closed her eyes and nodded, wishing he would go away, but knowing he was only trying to be helpful. She set the mug aside and slowly stood up. "I'm going to take a bath." She gave him a small nod, "Thank you." It was sincere, but firm. Boyd gave her a small smile as she retreated to the bathroom.

After hastily expelling her clothes to the corner and drawing a bath, she thankfully lowered herself into the hot water, relishing in the wave of warmth washing over her cold, tired body. Closing her eyes, she tried to shut off her thoughts had relax. This was easier said than done as images of Stefan crying out her name kept swimming into her mind. She slapped the water with her hands and told herself to stop it, a few more stray tears making their way down her face, but it was no good. Thoughts of the last few days kept whirling through her head, the revelations about her lover, the fact that she and Boyd had just played party his demise. They swirled around viciously, like a dark, murky whirlpool threatening to envelop her.

Eve's attention was brought back to the present by a sharp sense of pain. Frowning, she looked down to see that she had been gripping her arm so tight that there were little red indents, almost drawing blood.

When she emerged, a white towel wrapped around her, she was surprised and annoyed to find Boyd was still in her living, sitting on the sofa, twiddling his thumbs, looking vaguely anxious. She started at the sight of him, drawing the towel tighter around herself, feeling extremely self-conscious as he looked up.

"What are you still doing here?" It came out harsher than she meant.

Boyd tried his best to appear bashful. "I wanted to make sure you're alright." He said, his gaze not leaving her face.

"I'm told you, I'm fine." She snapped, stalking into the bedroom and throwing on some underwear, followed by her dressing gown. When she came back out, she found him standing, hands clasped together, frowning deeply.

"Was there something you wanted to say?" She asked in a strained voice, pulling the deep red gown securely round her slim frame and crossing her arms firmly.

Boyd sighed as he surveyed her sharp face, hazel eyes glaring at him defiantly, she was no doubt annoyed at his continued intrusion, not least because of his actions over the last forty-eight hours.

"Look, you're not alright." He began, spreading his hands in an annoyed fashion before letting them fall to his sides. "You can't be after recent events." Boyd continued, unperturbed by her steely gaze.

"But I also know, that you'll be up at a ridiculous time tomorrow morning, working away to distract yourself and there's nothing I can do to stop you." They stood in an awkward silence for a moment before Eve spoke again.

"Isn't there something else?" She asked - or rather - demanded, her voice taking on a rather dangerous tone.

Boyd might have laughed in any other situation, but he new this was no time for petty pride, he had acted unfairly and she had a right to expect an apology. So instead, he took a deep breath and clenched his eyes shut, as if steeling himself for the inevitable.

He looked back up at her and softened his expression. "I'm sorry." He said at last, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "I acted unprofessionally and I expected too much from you."

"Damn right you're sorry!" Eve exploded uncharacteristically, taking Boyd completely by surprise. "You should have trusted me! You promised to support me…" She trailed off, her emotions getting the better of her, tears glistening in her eyes, ready to spill. Boyd was reminded of the time in the office when he had questioned whether he could trust her and she had growled angrily; _"I haven't lied to you Boyd."_ her eyes glistening the way they were now.

"Eve." He said firmly, but he was cut off by her tearful voice.

"I'm sorry Boyd, I was gullible, I shouldn't have trusted him, I dropped it all on you…"

"Eve!" Boyd cut in again forcefully. He stepped closer to her, and she forced herself to bring her face back up to look at him as he gripped her shoulders.

"It's not your fault. You didn't see it coming, he had an agenda against you."

Eve wiped her eyes with her hand, shocked at Boyd's words. She had never heard him speak so gently before and, more importantly, he wasn't blaming her.

Boyd wanted to reprimand her for running off on her own, remind her that she wasn't a detective, she was a forensic scientist. But he didn't have the heart to do so. What scared him the most was how willing she had been to let Stefan drown in the lake, after smashing the window to the interrogation room in with a chair to stop him torturing Stefan.

No one crosses Eve Lockhart, he thought ruefully.

Eve cleared her throat "I'm sorry I broke the window." She muttered, averting her gaze again. She was showing Boyd a vulnerability he had never seen before, which he admitted, he wasn't enjoying seeing.

"It's, it's fine, I shouldn't have done that." He assured her. In actual fact, he felt no remorse for torturing the scumbag in his interrogation by bringing on one his panic attacks, but he did feel guilty for duping Eve into giving him a cigarette on the fire escape to aid the act. He dropped his hands from her slim shoulders, straightening his suit as he grew uncomfortable.

"You were right though, and I had my suspicions, I just didn't fully realise the implications until my fob fell out of his pocket." She continued huskily .

"We all make mistakes."

Eve gave Boyd a weak smile in appreciation of that statement. She swept past him to sit on the sofa, looking defeated, her damp brunette locks falling limply over her face. Boyd wanted to take a seat beside her and put a comforting arm around the broken scientist, but thought better of it. She ran a shaky hand through the tangled lengths and Boyd could see the uncertainty in her eyes. What was it that Grace had said?

_"She can't bare the thought that she's fallen for someone who might fundamentally be bad, it compromises her idea of herself. She needs him to be innocent."_

Sadly, he wondered how long it would take her to completely recover from this, how long it would take for her to trust again.

He was broken out of this depressing reflection by an uncomfortable cough. Eve was eyeing him with a look of impatience and Boyd knew he had out-stayed his welcome long ago.

He exhaled loudly. "Well, I'll leave you be now..." He strode across the room towards the door, but turned as he neared it.

"And this resignation nonsense, I'll just go ahead and delete that, shall I?" He smiled, it was laced with amusement.

Eve chuckled wearily, it was not her usual deep, throaty laugh, but it lightened the mood all the same. Boyd took that for a yes, and smiling to himself, left Eve's flat. That smile faded however, as he shut the door behind him. He didn't move for a few moments, as if waiting for something. Sure enough, a faint sob eventually penetrated through the door, tearing at his heart strings. He had no place to try and comfort the weeping woman and walked away with a heavy heart.

The next morning, he made his way down to the lab, customarily donning a white coat before entering. Eve looked up from her desk, hands curled around a large mug of coffee. He registered her bloodshot eyes, it was evident that she hadn't had much sleep, if any, judging that the dark circles had become darker. He said nothing of this however, as Eve locked her gaze with his, her eyes displaying a silent warning. He hadn't been going to speak anyway, it would have been hypocritical, the amount of time he spent in his office after hours, instead of going home, something which Eve had brought up once before. It was Grace's job anyway, he was sure she would come to have a quiet chat with Eve later in the day.

"Eve." He greeted gruffly, he admitted to himself that he was pleased she had stayed with them. Eve nodded, after watching his expression, there were no further words needed.


End file.
